After the Deluge

Week 8 College Football

Some top ten lists are handed down in stone amid a single blinding ray of sunshine and a choir of angels. The college football top ten list is not one of those lists.

Last weekend, we saw some of the most stunning college football upsets of the year. It was extra surprising because they all happened at once. On Friday the 13th, Clemson, then at #2, fell to unranked Syracuse, 27-24. How did the Orangemen pull it off? Many will point to the fact that Clemson QB Kelly Bryant had an injured ankle and had to leave with a concussion. But a bigger factor was Syracuse’s hurry-up offense, which just wore Clemson’s vaunted defense down.

In other top-ten-teams-losing news, Arizona State beat Washington, who had been #5. LSU, who hitherto had largely bumbled through their schedule like a hot knife through a stale bagel, beat Auburn, who had been holding on to #10. And Cal beat then-#8 Washington State, 37-3.

This all came a week after Iowa State beat Oklahoma and Michigan State beat Michigan. You have to imagine that top teams, especially the 6 remaining undefeated top 10 teams, are learning a very important lesson: if at all possible, try not to lose.

Tune in Saturday to see how the top 10 and every team fare against their foes. There are some really big games coming up for the likes of Penn State and Notre Dame. Watch all the games you want, even if they’re on at the same time, with Picture-in-Picture or Sports Bar Mode. And check back for recaps and the best upcoming games to watch.

Penn State vs. Michigan

3:30pm on ABC

#2 Penn State is in the best position to win the Big 10 and go to the CFB in years. But they have two big obstacles looming. They’ll go up against #19 Michigan, #6 Ohio State, and then #18 Michigan State in consecutive weeks. The Wolverines and the Buckeyes took some tough losses earlier in the year—Ohio State to Oklahoma and Michigan to Michigan State. But a victory against Penn State could mean a lot in CFB terms, especially for Ohio State.

USC vs Notre Dame

7:30pm on NBC

Many are gaming out scenarios where #13 Notre Dame is part of the College Football Playoff. And #11 USC has had its struggles, but they’re the clear favorite in the Pac-12 South division. And they may be the Pac-12’s only team with a real shot at the CFP. So there is a lot at stake in this year’s USC-Notre Dame rivalry game.

Syracuse vs. Miami

3:30pm on ESPN

Hey, if Syracuse can knock off #2 Clemson, maybe they can make it interesting against Miami. Right? We’ll see!

Memphis vs. Houston

Thursday 10/19 at 8pm on ESPN

This year, Memphis has exerted an important pull on college football. It was first felt by UCLA, who lost to the Tigers in week 3. Last week Memphis beat Navy, who sat briefly at #25 while leading the AAC West with an undefeated record. Today, Memphis, Houston, and Navy all have one conference loss, as do fellow AAC West members SMU and Tulane. It’s a race to be ranked!

Oklahoma State vs. Texas

12:00pm on ABC

After coming shockingly close to upsetting Oklahoma, Texas takes another run at a Big 12 rival. The Sooners and the Longhorns are tied in Big 12 standings with one loss apiece (along with Oklahoma, Iowa State, and WVU), beneath undefeated TCU.

Louisville vs. Florida State

12pm on ESPN

Imagine going back to August and telling everyone you know that Louisville and Florida State would be non-factors in the ACC halfway into the season. Louisville just lost to Boston College (??!?) while Florida State squeaked past Duke last week. These are some dark times for the ACC.

Tennessee vs. Alabama

3:30pm on CBS

Will this be another patented Alabama bloodbath? Presumably, yes. Would it be extremely 2017 Tennessee to somehow find a way to win? Also yes—but extremely unlikely. Tune in for the rivalry known as the Third Saturday in October, and remember that the winning team will certainly violate NCAA rules with victory cigars following the game. If they win by a large enough margin, we can wonder whether Butch Jones will roll out with the Tide.